Today I have come to the momentous decision that I am selling my soul. Yup, me… soul free baby, just call ol’ Scratch on up and we’ll hammer out a deal. I’m ready and willing to bargain!*shakes a hastily scrabbled together list of things willing to trade that includes in no particular order: Left hand, left foot, other hind leg of old cat, old cat herself, boyfriend’s Star Wars collection/X Men collection/Transformers collection….erases old cat*

Why am I willing to sell my used goods like a freakin’ fire sale, you ask? Well, have you seen L.C. Chase’s latest cover? Have you? Seriously, it’s enough to make me cry like Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. This cover for Daylight Again, written by SE Jakes, with the cover art by L.C. Chase, is divoon…

The talent, the sheer lickable-tasty talent that she has, it’s damn impressive is what it is. This is why I’m willing to sell something off that I probably don’t use anyhow. Not if you believe what my ex-husband says.

I just want to know, L.C., will you PLEASE give me lessons, or pointers, or post-its? Hell, you can throw Alpha-Bits at me and make me guess what they spell, if you’d tell me your secret. How the heck did you get so good at doing covers?

And that right there, folks, is why I’m here, to praise the undeniable talent of the wonderful L.C. Chase. Not only does this cover make me want to buy the damn book, but it seriously has me contemplating and eyeballing the previous two. Do I have any damn time to read, you ask? With a cover this good, I’m willing to make the time, I’m thinking.

My first question, though, and I honestly hope L.C. will answer this, is how long did it take you to make it? Did you draw the design on his arm yourself? How long did that take?

Now, I’m not sure why the guy’s eye socket is blue, I really need to read the books, but I love it in contrast with the skin tones and the tribal art. This literally looks like something someone would get tattooed on themselves. I’m going to say that she probably drew this herself, but I’m not sure because it’s darn hard to tell sometimes, and Google is so damn exact in its image search. I have the Fu but Google was having none of it!

It looks like the whole cover is drawn but again, it could be a photo (the guy himself) and then painting overlay to give it such a nice even look. It’s something I’ve been playing around with myself, though not to this level of capability.

I love the balance on this cover. The font is bright and eye popping, (and almost the exact shade I had my little ’72 VW Bug painted 6 months ago, so I might be a bit biased), it’s clear, it’s easy to read, and yet it doesn’t detract from the tattoo, which I’m gonna guess is supposed to be the main focus. With the way the cover is set up, it certainly got my focus.

The most beautiful thing about this cover is how it complements the rest of the series.

See? Isn’t that pretty? I thought so too. And it never loses its look from book to book. This is actually harder than you’d think, especially if you have three different pictures all with different lighting. It’s a lot of playing around with shading to get them right, and then you have to mess with the colors to make sure the skin tones stay similar, unless, of course, you’re doing a blue Martian, a green toad guy, and a pink bunny or something like that. Even then, you have to be in the same color spectrum ’cause if you use a blue-green Martian and a yellow-green toad guy, it just clashes. And yep, I can hear you snoring from here, so I’m just gonna end today’s mindless meandering on this final note.

L.C. Chase, art goddess extraordinaire, I will be hunting you down at GRL as well! Hope I have enough cash for bribing lessons out of you!

Well, in the meantime I’ll keep hunting for my coin purse, waiting for my invite to Hogwarts to arrive, and enjoy gazing on the mastery that is L.C. Chase’s art.

Have a good one guys! And may all the good books be with you!

A.J.

All thoughts and comments are the reviewers only and not the viewpoints of others. If I’ve made you angry, stepped on any toes, or otherwise ruffled any feathers, I do apologize. This is just for fun, and written in the hopes that it will help fledgling book authors and artists to grow and learn.

The blue of the eye is a “nazar,” a Turkish symbol against evil. They’re meant to be hung in the window to deflect any evil gaze looking in. Spectacular symbolism if you recognize it, and visually interesting even if you don’t. Nice work indeed.

I can't take all the concept credit though. Victoria Colotta designed the first cover, Catch a Ghost (and drew the dreamcatcher tattoo, too). I did the second two covers, but the series style had already pretty much been established. You're right though, getting skin tones and lighting to carry across a series can be a challenge. I can't remember how long it took to do the Daylight Again cover, exactly. I kind of get lost when I'm absorbed in the process. 😉 It's mostly all stock photos though. The nipping ring I drew digitally, as well as the eye (P.D. is right on about the evil eye symbolism). The skull is line art with a bunch of layers and photoshop brushes to give it a bit more of a 'tattooed' feel, and the model… lots of layers and lighting effects.

As for the secret…study, practice, repeat. 🙂 I like to keep up with what's going on in design, not just for book covers, but across the board. I watch font trends, genre trends, style trends, color trends, try to figure out how to achieve different looks through various effects, filters and plug-ins, share tips and tricks with other artists, and practice, practice, practice.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and hanging out talking covers at GRL! Be prepared though, hugs are mandatory. 🙂

You’re very welcome sweetie! I’m the same way as far as not really knowing how much time I spend, though I do try to get off my computer once in awhile so I don’t go cross-eyed! Thanks for replying and for the tips and all that sweetie! I can’t wait to meet you in person! Hugs are good! 😀

December Feature ~ T.M. Smith

December Feature ~ Elizabeth Noble

Follow TNA

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 6,007 other subscribers

Email Address

Book of the Month ~ November Picks

Check Out Our November Book of the Month Picks

Grab My Badge

Free Ficlets

Equality ~ Edited by Paul Alan Fahey

Speak Out as an LGBT Ally

NoH8 – Amy

NoH8 – Jules

NoH8 – Lisa and Daughter

Archives

Archives

Reviews By Author/Publisher/Genre

Reviews By Author/Publisher/Genre

Giveaways

The Fine Print

*Entrants of all giveaways hosted at The Novel Approach must be 18 years or older to qualify
*All contest comments must be relevant to the author’s prompt to be eligible (when applicable)
*Residency restrictions may apply to some giveaways
*The Novel Approach will not be held liable for prize delivery for any contest unless otherwise specified
*No purchase necessary to enter any giveaway
*All giveaways are void where prohibited by law

Disclaimer

There are lots of thinky thoughts and opining opinions floating around The Novel Approach, most of which are for entertainment purposes only; some of which may even be considered controversial in nature.

Each owner of said thoughts and/or opinions is free to express such, though that doesn't necessarily mean that I, or the other members of the TNA team, agree with them or give blanket endorsement to all expressions herein posited by our guests--or even by each other, for that matter. It simply means that the authors of said expressions are humans and individuals and like to think out loud from time to time.

What I sincerely hope is that you enjoy the time spent here reading what's being said, and that regardless of whether or not you agree, you respond with courtesy and respect.